A High Fantasy series by Snow Fox Of Death that is edited by an extremely blunt friend. She has proclaimed it to be a mess, but here's a try at organizing it.
A long time ago, thirty gods and goddesses got bored and created the world. They named it Ruenia and filled it with animals, plants, and intelligent beings. Then, five of their own betrayed them. They were banished to hell, but to ensure that they would never rise again, the gods picked clerics to keep order in the world and then sealed themselves into the spirit world.
Arane and her younger brother Lartol are servants for the lord of her village, trying to act as normal as possible. Her friend Lini and a stranger named Wylfing kidnap them for the following reason: Arane is a cleric, they are half-Hyra, and the Resistance needs them to help battle a demon accidentally summoned by the king fifty years ago in a desperate attempt to resurrect his wife who died giving birth to Wylfing. This demon, called the Soul Thief, kills people and steals their souls before they can enter the spirit world. It is known that while he is forced to consume some of them in order to remain in the mortal world, he also stores some away for an unknown, probably sinister purpose.
With the help of Arane's necklace containing the consciousness of the goddess Kitsune, the group finds Wylfing's brother Phoebus and Lini's twin sister Lumi and then recover one of the scrolls that will help banish the Soul Thief to hell.
Once they return to the Resistance, which has taken refuge in the elven forest, Arane meets Wylfing's elder sister and leader of the Resistance, Evangeline. She also finds Damie, a pure-blood Hyra who is her half-brother. He reveals that she really owes her loyalty to the Order of the Spirit Keepers, founded by her mother when information she found for the Resistance was condemned as lies.
And that's just the first book.
Arane's struggle to keep both the Order and the Resistance happy, the Nakama being sent around Ruenia to find the four scrolls, her progression as a competent magic user and fighter, and Wylfing's obsession with lifting his curse while trying to figure out why he is attached to Arane so much as Arane's surprising amount of sympathy and naive affection for him turn his life upside down are main plot points. Later, it is revealed that Arane's human blood significantly weakens her ability to control her magic, so she must be kept stable so she doesn't destroy the world. The Soul Thief finds out and responds by Mindraping Lartol into suicide to set off Arane's insanity, and she's never quite the same again.
The first chapter is scheduled to be posted on fictionpress.com sometime in October, but most of the books are already planned out. The Character Sheet is under construction.
The order of the books will be:
- Harvest Moon
- Ice Flower
- unnamed
- unnamed
This series provides examples of:
- All Genes Are Codominant: Arane's physical powers and the ability to control her magic are weakened by her human blood.
- Alphabetical Theme Naming: Lini and Lumi.
- Always Save the Girl: Wylfing is devoted to Arane. Risaki's first husband, Damian, interfered with a teleportation spell to save his wife and unborn child, but earning himself Cold-Blooded Torture. His own son, Damie, offers to do anything if the Soul Thief lets Lumi go. He loses his eyes and the Soul Thief doesn't go through with the deal.
- Artifact of Death: The Death Scroll obtained in the first book was written by Orphus, the King of the Dead.
- The Atoner: Lartol's "official" excuse for suicide is so that he is no longer a burden on his sister.
- Ax-Crazy: Arane turns into this after Damie dies.
- Backup Twin: Lini and Lumi switch places for their own convenience/entertainment frequently.
- Badass: You do NOT fuck with anyone in the Nakama. They will end you.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Wylfing is very cold to Arane until she finally defrosts him.
- Because Destiny Says So: Played with because prophecies conflict with each other and nobody knows which one is right until it's too late. Whose fault is it? The Oracle is possessed by the Soul Thief, who wants to make sure that it's hard for people to find out how he can be defeated.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Just for example, Lumi is a total ditz but is one of the most powerful clerics.
- Big Brother Instinct: Wylfing is not as cold as he looks.
- Big Damn Heroes: Wylfing, Erina, and Mioku showing up to save Arane from getting her blood drained for the Elixir of Life.
- Book Dumb: Arane and Lartol. Then again, they never knew how to read.
- Break the Cutie: The author isn't picky about it, either— Arane, Wylfing, Risaki, Lumi, and Damie had problems before the main plotline. Arane and Wylfing are still suffering. Even the Big Bad has a sad story, but his psychotic actions sort of makes us feel a little less sorry for him.
- Butt-Monkey: Phoebus suffers much abuse from his brother.
- Canis Latinicus: When the author needs to make up a word, she hops over to Google Translate, enters something meaningful, and then screws it over.
- Cheerful Child: Lartol, Arane when she was younger.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Arane, but it usually only extends to small children.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Lini, Arane, and Erina.
- Cooldown Hug: Wylfing does this a lot.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: The Soul Thief loves to play with his food before he eats it. Evangeline does it too.
- Complete Monster: Evangeline and the Soul Thief.
- Deadpan Snarker: Wylfing.
- Diabolus ex Machina: Frequently used at the end of major fights.
- Distress Ball: It's pretty much magnetically attracted to Erina. Arane gets smacked with it near the end of the series and hates herself for it.
- Dead Person Conversation: Arane with Damie's father, then later her mother.
- Dysfunction Junction: Everyone is either insane or suffering from past trauma.
- Evil Counterpart: Arane and the Soul Thief. The most obvious trait they share is the fact that they are both half-bloods (when the Soul Thief was alive, at least) and their similar attitudes, but then we see that Shiro had a little sister who he killed to lighten his burden, but regretted it so much he started collecting souls to offer the King of the Dead in order to bring her back to life. Arane, on the other hand, loved Lartol and kept him around. Mioku is Wylfing's counterpart: both love Arane, but Mioku is a creepy obsessed stalker who joins the dark side because he was deluded into thinking the Soul Thief would give her to him while Wylfing's love is usually shown as mostly pure.
- Fainting: This will happen to Arane and Lartol if they get too warm.
- Fate Worse than Death: If you don't let your wolf side take over your body, this is what happens if you decide to live as a werewolf.
- The First Cut Is the Deepest: Throughout Wylfing's relationship with Erina, he felt guilty about Arane. Damie telling him that making his sister cry is unforgivable did not help.
- First-Person Smartass: The books are narrated by Arane and Wylfing. Arane points out the Fridge Logic, and Wylfing does it because he's Wylfing.
- Female Success is Family: Justified in Hyra culture: it's only success because of the extremely low fertility rate.
- God Mode: A cleric can try and take the god's spirit almost completely into his or her body. This is usually a desperation move because there is such a high likelihood of disintegrating.
- Hellfire: The Soul Thief's favorite attack.
- Hero Secret Service: The Order of the Spirit Keepers. The Resistance is considered this within Argos.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Wylfing and Phoebus, Lini and Lumi.
- The Ice People: Hyra magic is based around ice and snow, because that's what they live in.
- Human Mom, Non-Human Dad: Erina. Later, it is revealed that Lunara, Shiro, and Daisy have these. Arane's parents are reversed.
- Invisible to Normals: You can't read Death Scrolls unless you 1) Have a soul 2) Have been beyond the Spirit Gate. In other words, only werewolves, vampires, and necromancers.
- Jerkass: Damie and Risaki.
- Kill It with Fire: One of Arane's powers is manipulating fire that freezes instead of burns. Played a bit more straight is the Soul Thief's Hellfire.
- La Résistance: What do you think? The Order of the Spirit Keepers is the resistance within a resistance, though they have the same ultimate goal.
- Like Brother and Sister: Arane's excuse for turning down Wylfing.
- Loves the Sound of Screaming: The Soul Thief and his vampires.
- Morality Pet: Lartol is a universal morality pet. Arane is Wylfing's.
- Muggles: They're actually quite common when the Nakama travels around. Unfortunately, the Nakama tends to attract attention.
- Near-Death Experience: If you get bitten by a werewolf, the god Sirius offers you a chance to live before letting you die. Likewise if you are bitten by a vampire with the goddess Avia.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Arane accidentally leads Wylfing to the meeting place of the Order, resulting in his imprisonment. She frees him later, but is ordered to have him killed. After her feeble attempts, she is forced to go into hiding for five years.
- Noble Fugitive: Evangeline, Phoebus, and Wylfing, because they joined the Resistance.
- Only I Can Kill Him: The Soul Thief wants to kill Arane after taking her blood for the Elixir of Life. Mioku wants Wylfing so he can take Arane because the Soul Thief tricked him into thinking there was a loophole that could allow her to live.
- Overly Long Name: When you have the official title for a member of the royal family.
- Pet the Dog: Wylfing does this occasionally, and more once he starts being friends with Arane.
- Parental Substitute: Wylfing mentions that several servants were ordered to take care of him.
- Pet Monstrosity: Lumi pampers her experiments (the actual experimentation not taken in account), no matter how hideous they end up.
- Post-Dramatic Stress Disorder: Wylfing is a more straight example, this is used in the extreme on Arane after Lartol dies.
- Powered by a Forsaken Child: [[Arane's blood is an ingredient of the Elixir of Life.]]
- Prophecies Are Always Right: Averted by the fact that there are multiple conflicting prophecies.
- Prophetic Names: Wylfing's mother gave him that name before she died. In Real Life, it is an alternate spelling of "Wulfing" which means "wolf clan". He ends up leading an entire troop of werewolves in the Resistance.
- Really 700 Years Old: Hyras and elves.
- Real Women Never Wear Dresses: A basic concept in Hyra culture.
- The Rival: Wylfing and Evangeline, ever since they were children. Also Arane and Erina, and Wylfing and Mioku.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Wylfing about Arane when he meets Erina, but confesses that he wishes it weren't like that. Wylfing starts doing this with Erina. Jealousy ensues.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Arane and Erina, and Lini when you consider that Phoebus is really a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. Lumi and Damie.
- Sink or Swim Mentor: Kitsune.
- Snowball Fight: Between Arane and Damie, of all people. She also starts them with others.
- The Straight Will And Grace: Wylfing and the twins.
- Steven Ulysses Perhero: Wylfing's mother gave him that name before she died. In Real Life, it is an alternate spelling of "Wulfing" which means "wolf clan". He ends up leading an entire troop of werewolves in the Resistance.
- Take That!: Word of God says that the elves in Ice Heart are parodies of the elves in Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. She strongly dislikes the series to the point of writing a critical essay of 'Eldest' for English class. This also causes the existence of Screw You, Elves! and Lampshaded cases of Can't Argue with Elves. See also YourMonstersSuck below.
- Teach Me How To Fight: Arane asks Kitsune and Lumi for training in magic. She also makes Wylfing teach her how to fight with a blade after he kicks her ass.
- Tear Jerker: Wylfing meeting his mother for the first time. And it was only a dream, too. Finding Lartol's body. Basically any time Arane and Wylfing were within twenty feet of each other after he finds out she was in the Order. Damie's past and his death, when the enchantment suppressing his real self and all memories of it are lifted and he apologizes to Lumi.
- Teleporters and Transporters: Magic can be used to set up a portal. However, they usually drop you within ten miles of your intended location.
- Tell Me About My Father:
- Wylfing bugged his siblings about his parents when he was younger.
- Damie asked Risaki questions about his father.
- Time Skip: The last book takes place five years after where the third left off.
- Took a Level in Badass: Arane becomes increasingly powerful throughout the series.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Wylfing finds out that Evangeline did this once he escapes his exile. Risaki did this slowly after her first husband died.
- Two-Act Structure: Things get a lot darker after the second book.
- The Virus: The curses of werewolves and vampires.
- What Beautiful Eyes!: Arane's main reason for making Wylfing stop hiding his face behind his hair all the time. He rightly claims that his emotions are too easily read.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Done in the first chapter when Lini practically kidnaps Arane and Lartol to give them Backstory. Later, when Lini and Wylfing ask Lumi why she built the castle. Evangeline also makes some... ruthless decisions at times.
- When It All Began: Wylfing's birth, Nimue's death, and the king trying to bring her back.
- A Wizard Did It: The castle that Lumi built. Why? Because she was bored.
- The Woobie: Wylfing can't get a break.
- You Remind Me of X: Arane is told that she acts like Risaki, her mother.
- Your Soul Is Mine!: If the Soul Thief steals it.
- Your Vampires Suck: The author hates Twilight and made an effort of making her own vampires and werewolves closer to the classic myths. The wings, she claims, are just for Rule of Cool.
